COVENTRY Bears were edged out 34-30 in a thrilling match at Dewsbury Celtic.

But head coach Alan Robinson took plenty of heart from his side’s performance, saying: “I’m happy that we have shown we can compete with such a seasoned side – that’s a big positive”

“It was a good test and it’s disappointing not to come away with the win but we have some returning players next week and, with a little more concentration, we can do better.”

Bears swept into an early lead when centre Barry McGuffog’s right-flank try was converted by Dan Poulton but the home side retaliated to reel off three touchdowns in quick succession, one of them an 80m interception.

Several Coventry moves broke down in sight of the line but four minutes before the interval Simon Perry broke through and Poulton’s conversion trimmed the deficit to 14-12.

Kicking down the slope in the second half, Bears twice conceded tries only to respond immediately with second-row Perry pouncing again and newcomer Aaron Higgins chasing a speculative kick to punish some hesitant defending.

And the Coventry men nudged ahead in the 65th minute when stand-off Poulton swooped between the posts and maintained his perfect conversion record.

Dewsbury regained the initiative with a converted try, however, and Bears then had two tries chalked off – Aaron Higgins pushed into touch in the act of scoring while the referee ruled that Stephen Coleman had been held up over the line – before Dewsbury added a last-minute penalty.